When we see our phone at their low battery limit or when our other gadgets suddenly turn off because of the lack of power, we tend to head straight to the power source and plug the charger along with it to re-charge. Most likely that is how gadgets were designed for.
However, more than what we know even the batteries of our gadgets should be taken care of as improper charging could decrease their lifespan. By then, it could no longer hold a chard or unable to hold as big a charge as it used to.
With lifehacker.com, we rounded up the things that you, as users, should consider to extend your battery’s health of your gadgets.
- Allow shallow discharges
There are various types of batteries which your gadget could have. For lithium-ion batteries, discharge them a little bit instead of discharging to 0% all the time. Charge them for a little bit. The Battery University tackles that discharges to 50% are better for your battery’s long-term life than, say, small discharges to 90% or large discharges to 0% (since the 50% discharges provide the best number of cycles-to-usage ratio).
- Avoid Full-charging
Lithium-ion batteries don’t need to be charged all the way to 100%. You could consider the 40%-80% guidelines in charging to prolong its life as long as you can. While it happened that you charged 100%, don’t let it stay in the plug for it degrade the battery’s life. Don’t charge overnight.
- Discharge it once a month
Many battery manufacturers recommend users to fully discharge the battery once a month for the users to find out if the battery is still accurate when it comes to charging.
- Keep it cool
You might have been guilty of letting your gadget heated because of over use. Excess heat is not only bad for your processor and your lap or palm but basically to your battery too. A hot battery will degrade health much quicker that a cool one. For those who are using laptops, an elevated beam or stand will be a great help.
In charging any battery, the batteryiniversity.com suggest the following considerations to prolong the health of your battery.
- Keep a battery at a moderate temperature. As food stays fresher when refrigerated, so also does cool temperature protect the battery by reducing internal corrosion.
- Avoid deep cycling. Each cycle wears the battery down by a small amount and a partial discharge is better than a full discharge. When possible, only apply a full discharge to calibrate a smart battery and to prevent “memory” on nickel-based batteries. Li-ion is maintenance-free and the battery lasts longest when operating between 30 and 80 percent SoC.
- Avoid abuse. Like a machine that wears down quicker under strenuous work, so also is a battery stressed by harsh discharges and rapid charges. Use cells that are optimized for the power and energy requirements as per application and increase that pack size to minimize load-related stresses.
- Avoid ultra-fast charge. Charge Li-ion Energy Cells at less than 1C (below rated Ah); Power Cells are more rugged and can be charged and discharged at a higher rate. NiCd is the only battery that can be fast charged up to 70 percent SoC without adverse side-effects.
- Store Li-ion at partial charge in a cool place. The worst combination is high voltage and elevated temperature. Store Li-ion at approximately 50 percent SoC.
Thank you so much for dropping by. Have a nice day ahead.
Source: http://lifehacker.com/